Dr. Sears has some advice on what stance to take on your dietary habits as compared to other people's but really it's not about your food choices. It's developing a familial set of values that you will have to enforce the entire time she's growing up: Our family doesn't smoke cigarettes, our family doesn't ride bikes without safety gear, our family doesn't whatever... ...and every single family has their list.

Every family has values specific to them, and we don't change them up because we're around people who are different from us. They do not waver because it's Aunt Judy's birthday or my kid's best friend gets baptized. It doesn't mean that we will speak ill of people who make different choices, but we do insist that we do what we value. How much you explain WHY you value what you do will depend on a child's age or maturity, but every single family has things that are specific to only them and THAT's really what you're defending.

You can say things like we don't eat that , our family doesn't eat those things, etc. Dr Sears calls healthy foods "grow foods" which makes it a little easier for your kid to say in public without offending anyone. I do know of some people who use the words "allergic" or "lactose intolerant" pretty freely. In this day and age of so many people having health related dietary restrictions I can't imagine coming up with much issue.

I know every parent wants their child to fit in and feel as if they belong, but food doesn't have to be part of that belonging. If she is made aware of what things are good and right in YOUR family, the pizza or ice cream issue won't come up often. And if she never has it, why would she want it? Tell her it tastes gross...lol! I'm not sure at what point you'll be ok with her making her own decisions about her health, I have 3 adult children and I still don't trust them any more than I trust my 5 or 3 y/os. ! LOL!!

Aside from Dr. Sears, Furhman's "Disease Proof Your Child" is pretty practical. and I think on Happy Herbivore's Herby Parents FB page you might find more practical advice. Good luck!

vegan42- what are your kids favorite vegan dishes? I'm new to the vegan world, been at it about a month or so. I'm introducing the new foods to my nearly 6 year old and 3 year old and it isn't easy. My 3 year old is very open with it....the almost 6 year old isn't so much. He notices that the foods taste different than the foods we had before. We switched to almond milk and he complained for about a week but now he doesn't say anything anymore. He doesn't really like vegetables either so it makes it difficult. I let them eat whatever still....they go to daycare & school and it's really hard to limit what they eat so far because I know the daycare provider won't cook a special meal for them when she's already cooking for the other kids, ya know? Ugh, it's so difficult! If only I could stay home with them